What is the Definition of Cellular Cloning?
When an entire colony of cells are cloned from just one cell, that's cellular cloning. This uses an entire cell rather than just DNA. In this way, you can work with only the specific type of cells you need and not have to worry about cloning an entire organism, like Dolly the sheep. Cellular cloning is not to be confused with cell phone or cellular phone cloning, which is something else entirely.
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Identification
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One cell is grown or extracted from an organ and placed into a cellular ring (a sort of cell aquarium) dipped in grease and filled with a growing medium of trypsim, yeast and bacteria that the cells can eat off of. Cells naturally divide in order to reproduce when there's enough food present. These cells then form a control colony where several can be taken out and experimented with.
Significance
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Many experiments only need very specific cells from a creature. With cellular cloning, very little space is needed to ensure a supply of just the right cells needed for the experiment. The cells can then be subjected to various drugs, temperatures, viruses or other variables without having to subject an entire creature to these experiments. An experimental creature contains many variables that can affect the outcome of the experiment because they contain so many other kinds of cells rather than just the ones being studied for the experiment.
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History
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The first recorded cloning experiment began in 1901 by Hans Spemann, who managed to split one newt cell into two, which eventually grew into two newts. Spemann would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1935 would other related work. Much of cloning was done by taking the DNA from one cell and sticking it into an emptied surrogate cell. In 1964, an entire carrot was grown from one carrot cell without the need for transference by F.C. Stewart. It wasn't until the 1990's that cell cloning was refined because a suitable growing medium had to found.
Benefits
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Because there is no need for an entire creature to be subjected to experiments, medical experiments can now be done faster, cheaper and more reliably. Cellular cloning also eliminates a lot of ethical issues such as the issue of using animals or human fetuses in experiments. Cellular cloning also has a higher success rate than DNA transference cloning.
Theories/Speculation
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It is hoped that one day cellular cloning will eliminate the need for organ transfers or animal experimentation. One hopeful start was seen in an experiment in England, where a man with advanced skin cell cancer with transfusions of clones of the man's white blood cells.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Cloning in a cloning ring. Image from Wikimedia Commons
